The Strong Museum Announces
G. Rollie Adams Research Fellowships to Advance Play Scholarship

ROCHESTER, New York—The Strong is pleased to announce the G. Rollie Adams Research Fellowships to provide financial support for scholarly play research conducted at the museum. The fellowships are established in honor of G. Rollie Adams, former president and CEO of The Strong and editor-in-chief of its American Journal of Play, who retired from the museum this past December. These fellowships provide a new source of financial support for eligible academic professionals, independent scholars, museum scholars, and advanced graduate students at the masters or doctorate level that can benefit from on-site access to The Strong’s world-renowned collections. The program complements The Strong Research Fellowships established in 2012, the Mary Valentine and Andrew Cosman Research Fellowships launched in 2014, and the Frances M. Williams Research Fellowships established in 2015.

“Recipients of the G. Rollie Adams Research Fellowships will benefit from access to The Strong’s extensive collections of play-related artifacts and archival materials, which, under Adams, grew to be the largest collections of their kind in the world,” says Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections. “Adams led The Strong for nearly three decades and also oversaw sustained and exponential growth of the museum’s programs, attendance, and physical footprint. During his time at the helm, the museum adopted its current mission and became the first museum in the world devoted solely to the study and exploration of play and its impact on cultural history.”

The Strong invites fellowship applications from academic professionals, independent scholars, museum scholars, and advanced graduate students at the masters or doctorate level living outside a 50-mile radius of The Strong. G. Rollie Adams Research Fellowships are awarded once a year and provide a $500 stipend per week for a maximum of four weeks.

Eligible research projects must benefit from access to collections held by The Strong, including publications and other materials in the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play; artifacts in the museum's toys, dolls, and games collections; and video game and electronic game artifacts and related resources acquired through The Strong's International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG).

Research fellowship recipients will have library access from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; supervised access to The Strong’s collections; wireless Internet access and phone; free digital images with a personal camera for individual reference use only; and access to a community of scholars and curators with a shared interest.

Applications must be received by April 20 and be submitted electronically to researchfellowships@museumofplay.org.

About The Strong

The Strong is a highly interactive, collections-based museum devoted to the history and exploration of play. It is one of the largest history museums in the United States and one of the leading museums serving families. The Strong houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play and is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, the Woodbury School, and the American Journal of Play. Together, these enable a multifaceted array of research, exhibition, and other interpretive and educational activities that serve a diverse audience of adults, families, children, students, teachers, scholars, collectors, and others around the globe.

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